Important but challenging meditations, applying Jesus to everyday life.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Three Pigs, part 2

The second pig was named Deutero, for his mother had little
imagination. He walked along his own
path and he too came across a farmer. The farmer called out to him, “Little pig, I
have a pile of tree debris that needs to go to the dump. If you take it there for me, then I shall pay
you well. “

Deutero thought about his mother who taught him that the
best thing was to find a patron, work for him, show his worth and so have work
and security forever. He replied, “Dear
sir, I see you are a farmer.”

“So I am”

“Might I conjecture that you have just cleared a field to
ready for plowing.”

“That is true.”

“Perhaps I could make a deal with you. I am a hard worker. I would like to plow, plant and harvest your
field. For my work, I will receive
housing upon your land, board for the year and a stipend. After my work, you will receive the harvest
to do as you please.”

The farmer considered and replied, “I like your plan. I, myself, would not be able to prepare this
land for another year, so I would be happy to allow you have a go at it. Do as you say, and for your housing, I offer
you this pile of wood, and the land on which it stands. Prepare the field, build your house and I
will pay you fairly for the harvest you work for.”

Fortune smiled on Deutero. (Fortune is really a nice woman
and doesn’t care for anyone to fall into evil.
But, like anyone, she has grumpy days.) By day, he worked the field and every evening
he cut down the wood and slowly built his house. He lived for a time out in the open, under a
wooden awning, but soon his house came together. It was two stories, with extra rooms for a
family, an outdoor shed and eventually marks of beauty that only a master
woodworker can create. A small world he
called his own.

At the end of the year, he harvested and gave to the farmer
all he had promised, for he was a pig of integrity. The farmer also paid him fairly, as he
promised, and he said that he would hire him the next season to do more
work. With half of his earnings, Deutero
ran out and purchased the most secure locks and fencing he could purchase. With the balance, he placed the coins under
his wooden floor. “Finally,” Deutero
said to himself, “I have security and peace.
I am ready for a wife and children.”

The next day Wolf came.

But first, as it would happen, Prime came to visit his
brother, Deutero. He told him of his
misfortune. He spoke of his deal with
the farmer, the loss of his money, his sickness and of his final
misfortune. “Since my house was
destroyed by Wolf, I have been in hiding.
I sleep in the bushes, behind stones, hoping beyond hope that Wolf
doesn’t find me and finish the devouring he began.”

Deutero didn’t laugh, for he cared for his brother and
mourned the misfortune. After
sympathizing with him, though, the second pig reprimanded him. “You have been foolish. Didn’t you know that mother told us to find a
patron and to work faithfully for that one patron? Only then will you reap the benefit of
security and peace.”

“That isn’t what mother told us at all,” Prime said. “Perhaps you were too young when you heard
her speak. She said that a pig should
trust with integrity, and God will give us good fortune.”

Deutero replied, “I know that mother spoke nothing of gods
or of evil, mystical wolves that devour our ill fortune. It seems to me, brother, that this wolf of
yours did you a favor. You are well rid
of your tainted straw. I think you are
better sleeping on the street than in a condemned house.

“Speaking of which, I fear you must go, my brother. Tomorrow I rise early to seek a wife, and so
I must sleep well to look proper for my true love.”

“But I hoped that perhaps I could get some sleep here… it
has been so long since I slept a full night…”

“Perhaps another time, my brother, but not tonight. Tonight I must sleep the sleep of five so I
might seek my future tomorrow.”

So Prime left his brother and wandered outside to seek a
rock to obtain some little shelter.

That very hour Wolf descended upon Deutero’s wood house and
said, “I am the Wolf, little pig, and you will let me in.”

Wolf replied, “You have no future. I am the vortex. I am the fear no one escapes. I am the power of the end. You cannot avoid me. Chaos and Death follow me in my wake. Breathe in, little pig and know that my
darkness descends.”

Deutero laughed again.
“You cannot reach me, Wolf. I
have the best security money can buy.”

Wolf raged and blew against the wood, and it began to crack.
“WHAT CARE I FOR YOUR PETTY LOCKS AND FENCES? I AM THE DEVOURER. I ONLY CARE FOR YOU AS THE TINY MORSEL YOU
ARE. NOW I DESCEND.” And Wolf spun and
enclosed himself upon the homestead.

He
pulled the fence up from the roots, deep in the ground, he cracked the
foundation of the house, he splintered the wood around the locks, and devoured
all the house, coins, pig and all.

Behind a rock, Prime stood in shocked woe as he saw all his
brother had worked for… and all he had not worked for… destroyed in an
instant. Once Wolf was sated, he looked
up and saw Prime and said, “SOMEHOW YOU SURVIVED MY MEAL. STAY, MORSEL, AND I
SHALL SWALLOW YOU IN ONE GULP.” But Prime
had learned from his fear over the last year, and ran to hide from Wolf,
successful again.

Wolf, however, has no
disappointments, for he knows that all things belong to him in time, so he
continued his travels.

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About Me

I'm a pastor of the homeless and mentally ill, and as such I find I am getting more mentally ill every day. I am also a theologian/philosopher, and I am a film butt... I mean buff. Oh, and I take pictures with a cheap digital camera-- that makes me one step lower than an amateur photographer.